The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-11-28
THE GLASS LOCKOUT.
he MANUFACTURERS READY
To Consider the Now Scale In Detail, n n
0Iosting to DO Held at Pittsburgh this
week-soms of tho Inequalities
Complained OF by tho Operators.

tho Monongaheia house, in Pittsburgh,
md on Friday q subcommittee Of inquiry
held an equally interesting meeting at
steubenvllls. 30 well guarded were theae
from tho public, however, that while they
were going on tho Pittsburgh preOs was
engaged In discussing au to whether thore
was any foundation for the report, which
originated In the INrELLloEscER, that the
manufacturers were preparing to submit
q proposition 10 tho men which they must
accsptin thirty days or the factories rep.
West, and numbering over lorty, would oil
ahu. down. OF tho sessions there Of the
committee preparing tho detailed PROPOSE.
ton the papers aaid nothing.
CHARACTER or TIE PRoposAL.
The manufacturers who arc members Of
the committee refuse TO give any informa.
ton, but an INTELLIogNcsB reporter 90.
cured some insight into the situation,
The manufacturers claim to have evidence
that tho Flint Glsss Workers Union,
white claiming 10 enforcs a uniform scale
OF wages and q uniform ru!o q, to moves,
really had no System in the latter regard,
and that Union factories which paid the
cams wages got widely different amounts
OF work under tho old system. They pro.
pose, therefore, to insist on a written con.
trac! to be aigned the frat OF every year,
binding on both parties for twelye months,
and governing tho price to DO paid work
mon In each department per turn OF
"move" as we'll as the number OF articles
Of all the vRrioua wares the making oil
which ghsll constitute a move.
In one OF the early conferences between
tho committees OF the manufacturers and
workmsn, q little conversation occurred
between President Smith, OF the Work.
memo Union, and a leading Pitteburgh
manufacturer, which gives the key to the
situation.
THE CAUSE OF COMPLAINT.
Said this manufacturer: "Mr, Smith
ours is O union factory, paying union
wages, operated under union rules and
conducted in every respGCt in strict accort
with tho workmen's wlshcs; is this MOI
true?"
"Yes, cir; wo have not tho nlightes'
complaint against your factory"
swell, the Union glsas company; hoS
is it with thst?"
ut 10 a good and satisfactory union os'
tabliahment."
"We sre eupposed to be Hnbjec! to thu
same ncale aud rules, | suppose"
"Yes."
"Will you pleaac tell me, thon, how it il
possible that tho Union GlaBs Comnany
working under the same gystem and pay,
ing tho aarns wages. dictated By your or
gEnizatioN, makes 700 OF ono article for &
turn and 900 OF another, when we are nj
lowed to MAKE but 500 and 700. respective
ly."
sob, WE'LL" said Mr. Smith, "you nsve,
kicked, and the men did no. think it was
their placs to voluntarily reduce theil
pay"
"Yot you claimed to submitto sill manu-.
facturors a uniform scale. Do you con.
cider that fair doeline?"
Mr.. Smiths anaEef is not knnTn. OF
course it is not claimed tha! this ia q yer.
ba!im report CT the talk ; tho reporter did
not haYe the facilities for making it 90,
but substantially this conversation did
occur.
LACK OF SYSTEM.
The manufacturers claim and many oil
the woTkmen admit that factories paying
the came wages per movs or turn ara
allowed to make widely diGoren. numbers
OF pieces por turn. 70 an outeider the
difference which ia said to prevail is as.
tonishing. For instance, one factory is
limissd to $50 per move of en- Article OF
which another ia allowed to make nearly
three times as many. Oie factory makes
OF another kind of ware 700 pieces, and
competing factories make anywhere from
200 to 900. The factory which has in tb;s
case the advantage OF about % per cent
may have in another limo az great Or 0
greater disadvantage.
In other words, the wages which ara OF.
tensibly uniform in all union factories vary
from % to 200 per cent. One man payaf for
making a particular line OF goods only
one-thlrd the wages a competing factory
pays, and possibly in another line the
hrat one psys half as much more. The
came lack Of system prevaila in all the fac.
tories, sometimes to the advantage and al
others to the disadvantage Of the game
manufacturer.
HOW IT WORKS.
II wa5 not until tho manufacturers be.
gan tto impart condolences TO each other
Just at the time q strike was recently
threstened by tho men that the vida pre.
yalence OF thene discrepancieH in move
limits was guessed at. It had been aus.
pected, however, that certain factories
were favored in certain respects. The
effect OF it is shown by the fact that for O
long time past the Wheeling ~isctoricu
have found it impossible to manuiacture
certain lineD OF ware at q profit. Take enc
particular article known to the
trade 81 q "bust off, tumbler,
Some timo sgo tho uniform
price of this lumber was sixty cents q
dozen. Recently jobbers said they could
got 1t from one factory fos iorty.fve cents.
The manufacturers hero could not dispute
his word, nor could thoy coll tho tumbler
at forty.hve cents, for it coat them more
than that in wages, to cay nothing Of the
material used. So they quit making 1t.
In this way trade had become democrat
led. Some articles we1o sold at a loss
and others dropped entirely. In one line
OF ware several factories had g difference
N tneir jaVor on the move OF Sl6, q sum
quito sufficient to enable them 10 sell
prodlabiy at a price at which competitions
lost money.
WHAT THE MANUFACTURERS DEMAND,
The manufacturer proposition will bs
rather revolutionary, and there ia little
hope that it will be accepted without a
contest, SIS the workmen express their
determination not to surrender what they
consider their p%rerogatives.
In the fret place, the manufacturers are
understood to have formed'a now alliance.
offensive and defensive, comprisinp nearly
fifty factories in all parts OF the Country.
which will stand together in csse Of lobor
reached.
They will demand that tho move system
! nj nQUinO wouoo ho Jn,a